leave-taking
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of leave-taking
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75
Explanation
When you've come to the end of a weekend with your best friends, it's time for a leave-taking, or time to say goodbye. All good things come to an end, and when that happens, you can describe it as a leave-taking. Hugging your visitors goodbye, waving as their car departs — these are all parts of leave-taking. It can be simple and polite, like when you say goodbye to co-workers at the end of the day, or a more poignant leave-taking, like when you leave your entire family to travel in Africa for a year.
Vocabulary lists containing leave-taking
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This is because parental leave policies are associated with an increase in leave-taking and childbearing, which leads to lost labor or increased health care costs for companies.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Our first clue that this leave-taking lies somewhere between planned and spontaneous is in Martin’s gently charged response in answer to his daughter’s initial confusion: What would you take if the house were on fire?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The clip did not directly address his leave-taking from Fox or the reasons for it.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
Though state paid leave programs increase leave-taking by both men and women, women take longer leaves.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2021
As they made a date for their leave-taking, a tide was running, returning, and she ran to meet it.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
